This is the true story of scientific child prodigy, and former baby genius, Ainan Celeste Cawley, written by his father. It is the true story, too, of his gifted brothers and of all the Cawley family.
I write also of child prodigy and genius in general: what it is, and how it is so often neglected in the modern world. As a society, we so often fail those we should most hope to see succeed: our gifted children and the gifted adults they become.
Site Copyright: Valentine Cawley, 2006 +

Saturday, September 15, 2012

Child prodigies in Asia.

To my surprise, in the past week, Edvantage, a Singaporean education site, included Ainan in an article about "Child prodigies in Asia". He was just one of quite a few examples, given. You can read it here.

I note though, that Edvantage's knowledge of Ainan's achievements is quite limited since he has done much, much more than they have mentioned. However, I am not surprised at this, since Ainan has been essentially ignored by the Singaporean media, since we left, with only one recent mention (of just 120 words), in the New Paper - and nothing else at all. So, it was a real surprise to me to see Edvantage writing about him, even if they are short on the facts.

There is one ambiguity in their write up. They mention that "Ainan's father, Valentine Cawley, moved to Malaysia for higher education". This is funny because it seems to be saying that I moved to Malaysia to go to University - and not my son. I wonder if that is what they meant to say, or whether they just became confused in their expression?

Anyway, for those who don't know, we moved to Malaysia so that my SON, Ainan, then 10, could go to University - not me.

Posted by Valentine Cawley

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2 Comments:

Came across your site after a talk with my boyfriend (was in Gifted program in SG, IQ 170) about him being denied a chance to take the psychometric test which is essential for taking S Paper (important for scholarship and it's vital for someone who comes from a poor family) just because he chose not to do well during his JC 1st year. Things would have been different if he was given a chance to take that test. That led me to Google on gifted child in SG - to find out more on the challenges of these people.

Side track a bit, I have been having doubts about my relationship with the bf as to why he treats me so differently from the norm. Why he did not treat me like how other guys would treat their gfs (comparing) and if it's me being unattractive or he could be seeing other women (insecure). I could not comprehend. I did tried to Google on "how to improve your relationship, how to win your guy's heart" but found no answers.

To be very honest, your site has indeed helped me to understand the bf a lot better and to accept him as what he is - he is different. I used to seduce him but most of the time, he did not bat an eyelid. Even though he did mentioned that certain things can only be done after we are married, but I still feel that it's me being unattractive if not how would a normal guy been able to resist the slightest temptation. One of your posts that mentioned something about gifted people exhibiting self-control slapped me really hard and woke me up. I almost forgot he is not like the normal guys whom I dated before. I guess I have found my answers.

Thanks for helping me to see things from a different light and to understand the mind of a gifted person having being one with an average IQ myself.

This is the true story of scientific child prodigy, and former baby genius, Ainan Celeste Cawley, written by his father. It is the true story, too, of his gifted brothers and of all the Cawley family.
I write also of child prodigy and genius in general: what it is, and how it is so often neglected in the modern world. As a society, we so often fail those we should most hope to see succeed: our gifted children and the gifted adults they become.
Site Copyright: Valentine Cawley, 2006 +

About Me

As a child, I had many gifts...perhaps too many - and this leads to the characteristic problem many gifted children face: what to do, when there is so much you COULD do. I resolved the issue by doing each of them serially throughout my life. I had gifts in science, writing, art, music, acting and academia...and so my life has demonstrated each of these, at some time. However, in the modern world, those who specialize, and focus all their efforts on one thing, tend to win through. In the light of this I have written two books, which are being prepared for publication.
I was a child in a time when being gifted was not something people spoke about: it was not a widely recognized situation - at least not in my background. Nothing special was done therefore, to help. It is my wish that all in that position, these days, receive the support that is needed, to become the best they can be.
I have been an actor, a writer of two books, a government physicist, at age 17, the founding editor of an Arts magazine, at 22, and a performance artist whose work was covered by CNN (interviewer: Richard Blystone) and Reuters. However, my greatest achievement is to have fathered three sons.